BGSU football (2-4, 2-0 MAC) won 38-10 over the Sacramento State Hornets (1-5, 0-3 MAC) on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons repeatedly capitalized on Sacramento’s mistakes throughout the contest.
The Orange and Brown got off to a rocky start, as junior quarterback Jay Kastantin threw an interception to Hornet senior safety Boogsie Silvera on the opening drive of the game.
On the ensuing drive, Sacramento State was able to reach the red zone and kick a field goal to gain a 3-0 lead.
BG responded with a 17-0 run to end the first half as the Hornets made key errors on both sides of the ball.
It started with Hornets’ junior quarterback Jackson Sharman losing 16 yards after a snap sailed over his head. The play forced the Hornets to operate from behind the chains and led to a punt.
The mistakes did not stop there for Sacramento State.
Bowling Green responded with a drive and got into Hornets territory. An unsportsmanlike penalty by junior outside linebacker Fata Puloka pushed the Falcons closer to the end zone.
Just a few plays later, Puloka picked up another penalty and moved BG within the 10-yard line. BG sophomore running back Austyn Dendy punched in a one-yard rushing touchdown to capture a 7-3 lead for BGSU.
Sacramento State did not do much with their chance to respond. Sharman was jointly sacked by senior defensive end Myles Bradley and senior defensive lineman Selah Brown.
After picking up a first down on second and long, Sharman was sacked again. Senior defensive end Eriq George and sophomore cornerback Josira Andrews converged on a sack and forced third down and a mile. The Hornets had to punt again.
The Falcons next drive went to the Sacramento State 35-yard line, but BG decided to punt on fourth down and six.
However, another penalty would haunt the Hornets.
Sophomore outside linebacker Ivan Moore Jr. ran into BGSU senior punter Ryan Kingston and gave BG new life on offense. The Falcons’ drive stalled out, but not without a 33-yard field goal by senior kicker Travis Kenner to make it 10-3.
After a three-and-out by the Hornets offense, BG had an opportunity for a two-minute drive.
Once again, Sacramento State got in their own way with penalties.
A pass interference call on redshirt freshman cornerback Caleb Reese gifted the Falcons 15 yards to the Hornets’ 26. Three plays later, freshman safety Chakai Scott had a pass interference penalty of his own, and BG advanced the ball to the 5-yard line.
To add insult to injury, the Hornets allowed Kastantin to make a touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Joseph Saffold with only four seconds left in the first half.
“[Penalties] sustained drives. It certainly helped us,” said BGSU head coach Eddie George. “It comes back to self discipline, something we preach and really hold our guys to in our culture. It’s starting to pay off.”
In the first half alone, Sacramento State picked up five penalties for 68 total yards. Comparatively, BGSU only had three penalties for 25 yards the whole game.
“We had 3 penalties the entire game,” said George. “When you can eliminate the self-sabotaging behavior and take advantage… it leads to opportunities.”
At the beginning of the third quarter, Sacramento State drove into BG territory and lined up for a 46-yard field goal. Like most of the game, the kick did not go in favor of the Hornets. Junior kicker Grant Meadors’ attempt went wide left.
The Orange and Brown wasted no time punishing the mistake. On the fifth play of their drive, Dendy bounced off multiple missed tackles by Sacramento State defenders on a 30-yard touchdown run.
Kastantin scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard designed run and made the score 31-3.
The scoring did not end there, as the Hornets’ offense made another fatal mistake. Sophomore wide receiver Raiden Brown fumbled as he was being taken down by sophomore linebacker Dorian Pringle.
BGSU sophomore safety D’kyah Banks scooped up the ball and scored to make it 38-3.
With such a large lead, the Falcons were able to put their backups in for most of the fourth quarter, a luxury they did not have in the first five games of the year.
The Hornets scored against BG’s backup defenders and recovered an onside kick, but it was too late for a comeback.
Bowling Green will look to continue capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes when they play Ball State next Saturday at home. Falcon Media Sports Network will broadcast the game on Falcon Radio and have more content on bgfalconmedia.com.